A car gear section. [Photo/autofreaks.com]
For those of us who like going off-road, modern cars are fitted with intelligent automatic gears that in the hands of a novice will embarrass a pro in a manual low range box. Modern automatics are now just as efficient, if not more than their manual counterparts.
They are comfortable and smooth in stop-start traffic and when calibrated properly and matched to a sufficiently powerful engine, they shift just as fast. Most manual enthusiasts were appalled to learn the Nissan GTR – R35 would come with an auto.
Many drivers considered that the manual was the only way to go for a purist, but the sad truth is that most sports cars now come with a DCT automatic which shifts faster than humanly possible.
The issue lies not with owning an automatic but with the inability of a person to drive a manual. If you drive a manual you can tell how much time other drivers will take to accelerate because you understand how gears work.
This is the reason matatu drivers are so confident! They know that your automatic will not be able to close the door on them when they want to cut in, so they simply do it, over and over again! Because they drive a manual, they can also appreciate the subtle pleasures of balancing on a hill or downshifting to overtake.
Even in an underpowered econobox, a manual gives you much more confidence on the road than an auto ever will. There is also the small issue of attractiveness. It’s a well-known fact that women love a man who is skilled in many things, one being the ability to drive almost any car.
Their fathers and uncles doubtlessly can drive a manual and woe unto you if you can’t, for you will be compared to them. Even more woe unto you if the apple of your eye can drive a manual.Any woman who can drive a manual is always a perfect, no matter her looks.
Needless, you don’t have to drive a manual in this day and age, but you should be able to if circumstances demand. Unless you are a car thief in which case it’s better for the rest of us if you can’t.